Overview: Kazakhstan continued to express concern about FTFs potentially returning from Syria and Iraq, and the potential for homegrown terrorist attacks. No terrorist attacks were reported in Kazakhstan in 2018. The government adopted a new five-year counterterrorism strategy. However, the strategy’s law enforcement-centered approach and continued restrictions on religious practice have prompted concerns among some outside experts that the government’s efforts may be counterproductive. Kazakhstan remains a committed U.S. partner on counterterrorism efforts and regularly expresses interest in expanding this cooperation.
2018 Terrorist Incidents: There were no reported terrorist incidents in Kazakhstan in 2018.
Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Kazakhstan has a comprehensive counterterrorism legal framework. The country’s lead agency for counterterrorism is the Committee for National Security (KNB), which coordinates efforts among multiple state agencies and at the local level. In March, the government approved an ambitious five-year, US $900 million statewide program to counter terrorism and “religious extremism,” with KNB leading in both drafting and implementing the strategy. The strategy dovetails with the government’s previously approved Concept of State Policy in the Religious Sphere for 2017–2020, which aims to combat the use of religion for “destructive purposes.” Law enforcement officers and prosecutors continued to exhibit wide discretion in determining what activities qualify as “terrorism” or “extremism” under the law, leaving political opponents and promoters of unsanctioned versions of Islam vulnerable to prosecution.
Kazakhstani law bans citizens from fighting in foreign wars. In 2017, the president signed a law that allows the government to deprive Kazakhstanis of citizenship if they are convicted of a range of “grave terrorism and extremism-related crimes.” No such convictions were registered in 2018. The government takes a two-pronged approach to its citizens returning from Iraq and Syria, offering rehabilitation services to some and arresting and prosecuting others. In October, KNB and the Prosecutor General’s Office successfully extradited a Kazakhstani national from Greece wanted for terrorist activity in Syria.
Law enforcement units demonstrated a strong capacity to detect, deter, and respond to terrorist incidents. The government’s counterterrorism plan allowed for enhanced interagency cooperation, coordination, and information sharing, but the extent to which this occurred remained unknown. From January through August, the KNB reportedly detained 18 people for participating in international terrorist organizations and detained 26 others for alleged “terrorist propaganda.” KNB reported that it had disrupted attacks during the early planning stages on law enforcement facilities and other government buildings in Astana, Aktobe, and Uralsk. Courts continued to deliver harsh sentences for the promotion of “extremism” online. For example, a 30-year-old man in October was sentenced to seven years in prison for the “propagation of terrorism” through the distribution of audio recordings with “religious content” on social media. In many cases, the nature of such charges is difficult to verify and, in some cases, appeared to be connected to political opposition activity. For further information, see the Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices and International Religious Freedom Report.
Kazakhstan’s Border Guard Service (BGS), part of the KNB, uses specialized passport control equipment, allowing officers to check for fraudulent documents. BGS officers interdicted foreign travelers attempting to enter and transit Kazakhstan with fake passports, such as an Iranian citizen who attempted to transit Almaty to Istanbul with onward flights to Europe in December with a fake Malaysian passport. In recent years, Kazakhstan has strengthened security on its southern border by adding radar systems, inspection equipment and vehicles, and specialized mobile inspection groups. The government proactively worked to prevent Kazakhstanis from traveling to fight abroad in Syria and Iraq in keeping with UNSCR 2178.
Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Kazakhstan belongs to the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG), a FATF-style regional body. The government criminalizes terrorist financing in accordance with international standards and freezes and confiscates known terrorist assets without delay. The government monitors and regulates money/value transfer and other remittance services and requires the collection of data for wire transfers (i.e., requires originator and recipient name, address, and account number). Additionally, authorities routinely distributed the names of organizations listed in the UN Security Council ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qa’ida sanctions regime to financial institutions. The Crime Statistics Committee of the Prosecutor General’s Office reported that five terrorist financing cases were transferred to the court system during the first nine months of 2018.
For additional information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume II, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes.
Countering Violent Extremism: Kazakhstan’s newly adopted five-year counterterrorism strategy places a heavy emphasis on law enforcement. The strategy’s CVE initiatives focus on educating youth about government-sanctioned versions of Islam and provide alternatives to “radicalism” through social programs and economic opportunities. The government’s Committee on Social Accord (formerly the Committee on Religious Affairs) conducted direct outreach to at-risk youth across the country. The government continued to develop rehabilitation and reintegration programs for individuals convicted of “extremism”-related offenses and for their relatives.
The Government of Kazakhstan censored online content to reduce “extremist” messaging. Religious experts associated with government institutions created groups on social networks such as Facebook and VKontakte, where they posted information and answered user questions about “religious extremism.” Committee on Social Accord officials provided training for local imams, NGOs, and the media.
International and Regional Cooperation: Kazakhstan participates in counterterrorism activities within the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which has established a joint task force for preventing the propagation of terrorist and “extremist” ideas online. Kazakhstan also participates in the Community of Independent States’ Anti-Terrorism Center, which hosts a data bank of banned terrorist and “extremist” organizations accessible to law enforcement and financial intelligence bodies of the member states. Kazakhstan is a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which organized a large-scale antiterrorism military exercise in Russia in August. Kazakhstani agencies partnered with the United States and international organizations such as UNDP, UNODC, and the OSCE on a variety of CVE projects. As a member of the C5+1 diplomatic platform, Kazakhstan participates in the associated C5+1 Security Working Group, which focuses on regional cooperation on counterterrorism and CVE.
